The Geology Collection

My geological collection has been spread across the bed in the spare room. It's the first time in years that I've looked at it like this, and it's quite impressive. Most of the specimens are fairly mundane but there are a few which are very unusual and would grace a university's collection. However, they matter less to me than those with which I associate special memories, like....

....this Silurian fossil, a coral from the Wenlock Limestone, collected during one of the happiest of my times in teaching, when I was at Ludlow Grammar School and some of the students were sufficiently enthused by the subject that they would come out with me for a day on a weekend just to hunt for interesting specimens.

Then there are the Jurassic fossils from the Great Oolite which I associate with my days courting Gill at her home at Cranham, and....

....fossils we collected later as a growing family on picnics at Walton-on-the-Naze when we lived in Maldon.

There are some too which are a little bit special because they have unusual features. This is zinc blende, or sphalerite, which is common in the tailings from old lead mines, but this specimen has some crystals. These are unusual enough, except....

....some of them have curved faces, a feature which is very unusual in crystals.

The specimens are out on the bed so I can number and catalogue them because I'm giving the collection away. I might feel sad about this but I'm not as it's going to a young member of the family who I hope will, over the years, enjoy it and, perhaps, add to it.